Indians Prospect Insider

The regular season has been over for two days. Do you miss it yet? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Twins firing Ron Gardenhire, the Astros announcing who their new manager is, who could start at shortstop for the Yankees next season, and more.

Another season of Indians baseball came to a close on Sunday, and as has been the case the past 65 seasons it ended without a World Series championship. But while there is sadness and disappointment with the conclusion of the 2014 season, this is but the beginning to what should be a very important and busy offseason for the Indians as they look primed to be serious contenders in 2015. The IBI's Tony Lastoria shares his thoughts on the future of the team, who shined, who struggled and more.

Another long six-month grind has come to an end as the 2014 season of Cleveland Indians baseball is now officially in the books. They ended on a high note with a 7-2 victory over Tampa Bay to finish the year with a respectable 85-77 record. Unfortunately, Terry Francona's bunch fell just shy of a postseason berth this year. Join the IBI's Jake Dungan as he wraps up the season.

The final day of baseball's regular season carried some drama with it as two division titles and one AL wildcard spot were secured. In addition to that, Nationals righty Jordan Zimmermann finished the season in style throwing a no-hitter - one that ended in dramatic fashion. The IBI's Jay Frierson provides all the news and notes from the day...

As bittersweet of an ending as it may be, you can officially close the book on the 2014 Indians. The Tribe suited up for one more day in the sun at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, ending a bumpy season on a high note, with a 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday afternoon. Join IBI Indians beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps the season finale at the ballpark.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end, we continue bringing you seasons in review, with today's featuring the 2014 Lake County Captains. After focusing on the Captains' pitchers last week, join Jim Piascik as this week he focuses on their hitters, including Eric Haase, Nellie Rodriguez, and Clint Frazier.

Carlos Carrasco’s Saturday performance was, if not wholly and faithfully representative, at least emotionally representative of the Indians’ season to date. On one hand, Carrasco threw a gem, an eight-inning, ten-strikeout, three-walk performance that resulted in two earned runs. On the other hand, it coincided with a Rays’ shutout of the Indians and hence a pitcher loss for Carrasco’s efforts. Join John Grimm as he gives his Second Thoughts on Carrasco and Cleveland's loss on Saturday.

Once upon a time, Tribe fans only knew Michael Brantley as a player to be named later. Six years later, they called him their most valuable player. Amidst loud chants of "MVP" around the ballpark Saturday night at Progressive Field, Brantley entered baseball record books by collecting his 200th hit of the season. The hit became the lone highlight for Cleveland in a 2-0 loss to Tampa Bay, in what was the final night game of the regular season.

This weekly feature piece here at the IBI specifically looks at some of the prospects that have maybe not had as much attention they deserve for a variety of reasons but who are interesting or are coming onto the scene. Last week the IBI's Tony Lastoria focused on right-handed pitcher D.J. Brown, so this week he decided to focus in on a position player, one who just happened to be Brown’s battery mate this season catcher Jeremy Lucas. What kind of prospect is he? How is his bat and defense? What kind of future does he have? Tony provides all that and more...

Corey Kluber has been baseball's breakout story of 2014. That story and that 2014 came to a close for Kluber on Friday, as he emphatically delivered an eleven-strikeout, eight-inning shutout performance to cap a season that has been one of the most impressive in Indians' history. The IBI's John Grimm attempts to situate this historic strikeout season and explain the hallowed fraternity to which Kluber now belongs.

It's official. The lights above Progressive Field will not shine bright come October. But for one more night on Friday, Corey Kluber shined the brightest. Hurling eight dominant innings of shutout baseball, Kluber led the Indians in the series opener past Tampa Bay for a 1-0 victory. Join IBI Tribe beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps the win from the ballpark.

The Indians were officially eliminated from playoff contention. Meanwhile, Corey Kluber reinforced his Cy Young candidacy. Mixed bag type of day! In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on the Diamondbacks firing Kirk Gibson and Alan Trammell, the Brewers exercise a starter's option, the viability of the Rays going forward, and more.

In today’s Minor Happenings, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a long look at outfielder Greg Allen and really dissects his game and the future he has as a prospect for the Indians. He also provides insights from the front office on why Lindor, Urshela and others were not called up, looks at where Joe Wendle disappointed but also shined and why he is not far off from a bounce back, and provides insights into the developments of players such as Shawn Armstrong, Carlos Moncrief, Francisco Mejia, J.P. Feyereisen, Luis DeJesus and more…

Despite the Indians' playoff hopes currently running on fumes, they are fortunate to have a horse in both the Cy Young and MVP races in Corey Kluber and Michael Brantley, who each have put together historical seasons by franchise standards. The question now is will they each have a legitimate shot at winning? The IBI's Jake Dungan discusses.

The Indians begin their final series of the season tonight. How many days until Spring Training begins? In this MLB News and Notes segment, the IBI's Andrew Zajac will be giving occasional reports on the latest news and rumors throughout the MLB. Today's piece focuses on a fitting end to Derek Jeter's career at Yankee Stadium, the Diamondbacks hire a new general manager, Phil Hughes settles the dispute over his contract bonus he fell just short of, and more!

Throughout the final two months of the season, the Cleveland Indians have boasted one of the best rotations in baseball. Unfortunately, a fried bullpen and impotent offense have cost them any realistic shot at the playoffs. The IBI's John Mast takes a look at the Indians lineup going into next year and how one or two big moves could put this team on the doorstep as a World Series championship contender.

One win down...three to go. And then maybe, just maybe by some baseball miracle, the Indians will sniff the cool air of October. But that's for Oakland and Kansas City to decide. At least for now, the Tribe is still in the hunt for the postseason after a huge 6-4 win over the Royals Wednesday night. Join IBI Indians beat reporter Jim Berdysz as he recaps a big win from the ballpark.

The Indians lived to fight another day on Wednesday as they beat the Royals by a score of 6-4 on Wednesday and every other team in the wildcard race lost. The IBI's Jay Frierson provides all of the news and notes from another busy day around baseball and an AL Wildcard race where no one has taken the bull by the horns.

Originally born in Mexico, Rigo Beltran moved to the San Diego area at about six years old and it was there that his baseball dream started. He grew up with “Fernando Mania” as he idolized Fernando Valenzuela when he pitched for the Dodgers in the 1980s and found some success himself as a pitcher pitching 16 seasons in pro baseball from 1991-2006 before retiring to become a coach in 2007. He latched on with the Indians this past season and was the pitching coach at Low-A Lake County, and the IBI's Tony Lastoria recently had a chance to talk about his career path and love for coaching.

The Cleveland Indians season may be wrapping up, but as always, the season never comes to a close here at the IBI. With the offseason ready to start, there are some opportunities to join the IBI family. Check inside for details!

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!